Latest coverage for Aviation

Appeal Faces Steep Statistical Odds Given Previous Court RulingsPassengers affected by the July 2024 CrowdStrike outage are making a longshot bid to get their case reheard en banc, arguing that claims tied to the vendor's allegedly defective software update involve traditional negligence issues under state law rather than airline services.

Unit 42 Says Iranian Operators Target Aerospace and Government StaffPalo Alto Networks' Unit 42 said Iran-linked operators tied to Screening Serpens are using fake recruiting campaigns, cloned aerospace hiring portals and malware-laced job materials to infiltrate defense, satellite communications and government networks.

French Vendor's QShield Offering Protects Edge Systems From Reverse EngineeringAircraft manufacturer Airbus plans to acquire 100-person French cybersecurity vendor Quarkslab to strengthen sovereign European defenses by protecting aerospace and defense software, data and edge systems from AI-driven reverse engineering and exploitation.

Hacking Group Deploys Raft of Custom Malware VariantsAn Iranian state hacking group with a history of targeting aerospace, aviation and defense industries across the Middle East has improved its tooling with multiple custom malware variants, warned Google. The group, tracked as UNC1549, is suspected of ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.

NAV Canada CISO Tom Bornais on Keeping IT and OT Systems RunningWith threats targeting aviation infrastructure, NAV Canada CISO Tom Bornais explained how his team focuses on building resilience rather than chasing perfection. He outlined why internal alignment, incident simulation and supply chain security are critical to defending IT and OT systems.

Everest Extortion Group Lists Dublin AirportA Russian data extortion group threatened Sunday to release passenger data putatively stolen from the Dublin Airport days after its operator said it investigated a breach stemming from a September cybersecurity incident that affected airports across Europe.

Effects of Friday Cyberattack Still Felt in European AirportsBritish police arrested Tuesday night a man in his forties suspected of causing days of flight cancellations and delays at several major European airports by hacking an aviation technology company. Impacted airports include London Heathrow, Brussels Airport and Berlin Brandenburg Airport, as well as Dublin Airport.

Iranian Hackers Impersonate Online RecruitersWestern Europeans working in aerospace, defense manufacturing or telecoms are receiving waves of emails from putative job recruiters who actually are Iranian state hackers ready to unleash a backdoor and an infostealer. Check Point tracks the threat actor as "Nimbus Manticore."

Major European Airports Continue to Face Service Disruptions Following Friday HackEuropean cyber defenders classified as a ransomware attack an incident that disrupted several major European airports including London Heathrow resulting in flight cancelations and delays over the weekend and Monday.

Airports in Brussels, Berlin, and the UK and Ireland ImpactedFlight cancellations and delays lasting hours at several major European airports including London's Heathrow on Saturday occurred after a cyberattack against a provider of check-in and boarding systems. Hackers late Friday targeted software developed by Collins Aerospace.

New Ransomware Possibly Linked to Earth BaxiaA previously uncatalogued ransomware strain is targeting public sector and aviation organizations in the Middle East. The threat actor uses techniques similar to a previously documented hacking group tracked as Earth Baxia and likely based in China.

AI Helps Delta Shift 20% of Ticket Pricing to Real-Time Automation by 2025Delta Air Lines is revolutionizing ticket pricing with AI, aiming to automate 20% of fares by 2025. Partnering with Fetcherr, the airline uses real-time data and machine learning for personalized pricing, raising revenue potential and privacy concerns.

Aeroflot Hit With Wiper Malware, Claim Pro-Ukrainian Hackers From BelarusRussia's largest airline, Aeroflot, canceled dozens of flights on Monday and delayed more due to an IT disruption. Two pro-Ukrainian hacking groups from Belarus claimed to have wiped stolen extensive customer data before wiping 7,000 physical and virtual servers used by the airline.

Hacking Tactics Linked to Retail, Airline CompromisesThe loosely connected band of adolescent cybercriminals tracked as Scattered Spider has joined the VMware hypervisor hacking bandwagon, pivoting into virtual servers through corporate instances of Active Directory. vSphere integration with Active Directory adds a yet another layer of insecurity.

Passengers' Nuisance Claim Against CrowdStrike Barred by Airline Deregulation ActA judge dismissed a suit against CrowdStrike over its 2024 outage, ruling the claims by airline passengers are preempted by the Airline Deregulation Act. The plaintiffs claimed damages for negligence and public nuisance. But the court found those claims were inseparable from the airlines' services.

Also: Researchers Bypass GitHub Copilot's Protections, Deloitte Pays $5M for BreachThis week: Sweden clears ship in Baltic cable damage, researchers find ways to bypass GitHub Copilot's protections, Netgear patches router flaws, undetectable Mac backdoor raises alarms, cyberattacks target aviation, Spain nabs international hacker, and Deloitte pays $5M for RIBridges breach.

DDoS Attacks Primarily Target Logistics, Government and Financial EntitiesA spate of distributed denial-of-service attacks during the end-of-year holiday season disrupted operations at multiple Japanese organizations, including the country's largest airline, wireless carrier and prominent banks. The effect of the attacks has been temporary.

Tehran Baits Aerospace Sector into Downloading Malware With Fake Job OffersIranian state hackers are taking a page out of North Korean tactics to entice job seekers into downloading malware, with security researchers spotting a Tehran campaign directed against the aerospace industry. It's possible that Pyongyang shared its attack methods and tools.

Vendor Blames Delta's Outage Severity on Its 'Own Response and IT Infrastructure'CrowdStrike has countersued customer Delta Air Lines, accusing the airline of employing a lawsuit and seeking damages in "a desperate attempt to shift blame" for Delta's own IT inadequacies having exacerbated its outage, unlike "other major airlines" that quickly resumed operations.

BAE Systems Among Companies in the Sights of North Korean Cyberespionage GroupA North Korean cyberespionage group is posing as job recruiters and targeting aerospace and energy sector employees with lucrative job offers, according to Mandiant. The hackers use email and WhatsApp messages to lure victims into clicking a link that deploys backdoor malware onto their devices.